Baltimore City Files Lawsuit Against Ghost Gun Manufacturer Polymer80

Baltimore MD

01 June, 2022

3:12 PM

Description

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore City filed a lawsuit against the nation's largest ghost gun manufacturer, Polymer80, Inc, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced Wednesday. Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home, according to Brady United, a nonpartisan organization focused on curbing gun violence nationwide. "Ghost guns are a devastating menace to the people of Baltimore," Mayor Scott said. "This lawsuit shines a light on Polymer80 and individuals who routinely create a marketplace for deadly, untraceable weapons. The availability of these weapons – particularly to criminals, juveniles and other people who are prohibited from owning a firearm – presents a growing public health crisis. We must stop Polymer80 and companies like it that profit from destroying our communities." According to the lawsuit, Polymer80 intentionally undermines federal and state firearms laws by designing, manufacturing, selling and providing ghost gun kits and parts to buyers who do not undergo a background check. The city alleges that Polymer80's primary markets consist of those who want to evade law enforcement or who cannot obtain a gun from a federal firearms licensee, including underage buyers, buyers with criminal convictions and gun traffickers. While the Maryland ban on the sale of ghost guns went into effect on June 1, 2022, the lawsuit alleges that Polymer80 intentionally undermined other laws like the Gun Control Act, the Maryland Handgun Register law, and the Maryland Handgun Qualification License law for years prior to June 1, 2022. The lawsuit also includes Hanover Armory as a defendant. According to the lawsuit, Hanover Armory regularly sells Polymer80 kits in Maryland without determining whether its customers are prohibited from owning a firearm. "This lawsuit is the first step in accountability and, hopefully, ending the flow of these deadly firearms in the community," Brady Senior Litigation Counsel Philip Bangle said. The lawsuit requests compensatory damages for policing costs to the City of Baltimore, punitive damages and injunctive relief requiring Polymer80 to stop the flow of ghost guns into Baltimore City. Patch has reached out to Ploymer80 for comment on the lawsuit. We'll update this story if we hear back.